A reform of the way appointments are made to the judiciary will happen but only within a wide-ranging review of the entire system, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said yesterday.
He was reacting to a statement by the Chamber of Advocates which said the government ignored recommendations by the justice reform commission on how to appoint judges and magistrates in a more meritocratic and transparent manner. The statement came in the wake of the appointment of two judges and two magistrates.
Headed by former European Court of Human Rights judge Giovanni Bonello, the commission had called for such appointments to be made after an autonomous board agreed on a nominee.
Dr Bonnici said that, while he agreed with the system, he could not adopt it yet it because it formed part of a list of about 400 changes to the system put forward by the same commission.
“The Bonello report is wide ranging and it is being translated into a holistic Bill. We can’t pick and choose what changes to make. We intend to implement all these things at one go,” he said, adding he was committed to seeing this through expeditiously.
‘I fully trust that these two will do justice’
The appointment of Monica Vella and Joseph Mifsud as magistrates last week raised eyebrows because both had previously held formal ties with the Labour Party. Dr Vella had served as a Labour local councillor and mayor in Xewkija and Dr Mifsud was Labour’s international secretary.
Asked about their connection to the PL and whether this marred their appointment, Dr Bonnici insisted he fully trusted that the two would do justice to the judicial system regardless of their political beliefs. “Any appointment brings along an element of controversy. But I am sure these two appointments will do us proud,” he said.
The fact someone used to militate for the PL should not exclude that person from becoming a member of the judiciary
Dr Bonnici said 10 appointments had been made to the judiciary since he took office in 2013, some consisting of magistrates being promoted to judges and others bringing fresh faces to the judiciary. Dr Bonnici acknowledged some of the appointees had previous ties with the PL but said these should not be held back because of their political beliefs.
“The fact that someone used to militate for the Labour Party should not exclude that person from becoming a member of the judiciary,” he said. He noted that some of the appointees had no ties with Labour and that he “did not care” about any of the judiciary’s political bias.